Sword Art Online - The Reality
by sukimit
Summary: After Kirito and Asuna escapes from the virtual reality of SAO, what happens to them in the real world? What happens if Asuna forgot all about SAO and Kirito? What will the lives be like for the players where their lives stood still for 2 years?
1. Prologue - Kirito

Prologue

My name is Kirigaya Kazuto. I have been trapped inside a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online (SAO) for two years with the nickname Kirito. The creator, Akihiko Kayaba, trapped ten thousand players in the game through withdrawing the ability to log out of the game. Being trapped inside SAO meant that the only way to log out would be to reach level 100 of the game and beat the boss there. A side effect of being trapped in the game, was that if you were to die in the game, you would also die in the real world. With these rules established, the players were left to fend for themselves in the world where Akihiko Kayaba is God.

Being in the virtual reality for an extended period of time, more and more players are losing touch of reality. Since there are no laws in the games, players are getting bolder and bolder, to the sense where they started killing each other. Of course, those people are a minority. Another minority would be the people who are actually trying to win the game, to get to level 100 and beat the boss. I am part of this minority. Another important person in this minority was a girl named Asuna. I was a solo player in the majority of the two years in the game, as the few times I partied up or joined a guild, it ended bitterly. I was one of the strongest players in SAO, and was always battling the frontlines with Asuna and her guild, the Knights of Blood (KoB). Through the harsh reality of the game, I believed Asuna and I fell in love with each other. We managed to get married, bought a house and even adopted a daughter called Yui. However, all of it meant nothing when SAO ends.

I have managed to beat the boss of the game, Akihiko Kayaba, with the help of people who are very important to me. People whom, without them, I would not have the strength to face Akihiko. Asuna, of course was one of them.


	2. Chapter 1 - Kirito

I opened my eyes to bright lights shining down on me. I raised my arms in an attempt to shield my eyes and found them unusually heavy. I blinked once, then twice before I managed to get my eyes focused.

Those lights, they were fluorescent lights. Fluoresc-FLUORECENT LIGHTS?!

I lowered my arm and gaze around me, it seems like I was in a hospital. With my mind still in a blur, I got out of the hospital bed (which requires an unbelievable amount of strength). I managed to stand, and slowly walked towards the door. I could feel my feet trembling under the weight of my body, which it was unaccustomed to. I reached my hand out for the door handle and saw it trembling as well. I slowly walked out onto the hospital hallway (which was surprisingly empty).

'A-Asuna…', I rasped, that was the only thing in my mind right now. The promise we made to each other in SAO was so vivid in my mind that I can feel tears welling up in the corners of my eyes.

I continued walking down the hallway, whispering Asuna's name under my breath. I have no idea where I am going, I only knew I have to find Asuna, to make sure that she is safely back in this world. To see her smile once more, to feel her warmth once more…

* * *

I opened my eyes and saw the bright fluorescent lights once again, I squeezed my eyes shut and saw Asuna smiling back at me. I gasped and my eyes flashed open.

I felt something warm squeezing my left hand, I turned my head and saw Sugu. Sugu, my sister Suguha! I-I was really back in the real world! Sugu seemed to be asleep and was just waking up. She rubbed her eyes sleepily before feeling my gaze on her. I saw her eyes widened and tears starting to well up, before she threw herself on top of me. I let out a gasp of shock as I feel her trembling body on top of mine.

'Onii-san! You're finally awake! I'm so glad!'

I can feel her sniffling on my shoulder. A smile broke on my face as I wrapped my arms around her as well. Sugu, my sister. I'm finally back. Tears of relief flood down my face as I stroke the trembling body of my sister.

'Let me tell Mum and Dad about this!' says Sugu, after we hugged. I could still see the tear stains on her face, and her nose is as red as ever.

After a frantic phone call outside my hospital room where the walls could not masked her high pitched voice, Sugu returned to my room, sniffling with eyes shining bright with tears.

I had managed to sit up on my bed and was just reaching out for the glass of water at my bedside table. As soon as Sugu saw how hard my hands were trembling as I was holding the glass, she immediately rushed to my bed side and helped guide my hand.

'Sugu, what is today's date?' I rasped, still not accustomed to speaking. 'November 10th 2024, Monday, 12.43 am!' Sugu replied with a smile and a mock salute.

Sugu then went on her incessant chatter about how much everyone missed me, and how glad she was that I was finally awake. According to her, starting from the 7th of November, people trapped in SAO were all starting to wake up and how everyone was anticipating for me to wake up as well. Around two hours ago, while Mum and Dad was leaving the hospital to get some rest, and Sugu was getting some warm coffee from the café downstairs, I had woken up. The nurses found me sprawled on the corridor outside my ward, since Sugu returned at that time, the hospital have not called my parents. After more updates about my family and friends, the door to my ward suddenly burst opened and in rushed my parents.

'Kazuto, you're finally back!'

'My son, my dear son!'

I was enveloped in the warmth of my parents, and tears started flowing down my face again. I could not believe how much I have missed my parents! My heart swelled as the love I felt for my family hit me for the first time in 's how we stayed throughout the night, all huddled by my bed, exchanging stories and constantly hugging each other.

I have not felt such warmth and safety for a long time.


	3. Chapter 2 - Kirito

**Chapter 2 **

It has been two months since I woke up from SAO, and it was 2025. I just started school a few days ago, and was still getting used to urban life. To get our lives back on track, special classes were set up for students who were in SAO for the past two years in different schools. Middle schoolers in their last two years will be allowed to skip those years and start high school straight away, with the first year being special courses. All the high schoolers, regardless of their year, would only have 1 ½ to 2 years of high school, and the college entrance exams would have a special curve for the 3rd year high school students. Since only around six thousand people managed to survive SAO, and only about half to two-thirds of them were students. Only selected schools will have these specialised classes.

With the technology of transport being more advanced than ever, where you can travel across Japan in slightly more than three hours, only a fifteen minute train ride is needed for me to get to school.

Special programmes were also put in place by the government to help the working class who were trapped in the game. Refreshment courses were given to them to help them get used to the daily routine of urban life again. It was not that difficult for them to find jobs that were similar to what they had before the game as well. This is largely due to their vacancies being mostly taken up by foreigners who had signed a yearly contract with the company (an act strongly encouraged by the government).

With the apt timing that SAO ended, it gives the 'players' just enough time to get used to the urban environment again to start work in the new year. Of course, many of us 'players' still faced difficulties in getting used to the urban lifestyles and are getting regular therapy and counselling sessions. Some examples of the difficulties we faced could be the constant buzzing of lights and noise in all hours of the day, with tall buildings everywhere may cause claustrophobic tendencies in some of us. The constant flashing lights and noises everywhere made us nervous and jittery all the time, reaching for our non-existent weapons whenever we were caught off guard. We were also seen to be constantly fidgeting due to the sudden enclosed area of city life, when we were used to the vast open fields and medieval streets of Aincrad. All of these are just side effects of being trapped in a virtual reality for an extended period of time. Other than that, we were mostly fine, except for the constant nightmares that all the players faced every night.

Every single player in SAO has their own fair share of risks, loss, deaths and betrayals. Therefore, it is not surprising that all of us have nightmares daily. These nightmares may not fade even after years of counselling and therapy. It will most likely be something all SAO players will have to live with all their lives. It may seem as a small price to pay as compared to some of our comrades who lost their life or sanity in the game.


	4. Chapter 3 - Kirito

Chapter 3

It's March 2025, and I have started my first year in high school. School work is hard as usual, but I have also been keeping myself busy. I have always been interested in technology and computers, even before SAO, and I have made up my mind to pursue computer engineering as a career. Hence, I have been working extra hard in Maths and Science. I have also taken up Kendo again. Partly because of the constant need to hold a sword, and also because of how hard I have seen Sugu practiced. I could not help but feel guilty that Sugu took up Kendo for my sake. I have also been tinkling around with computer parts on my spare time.

Every morning, the fifteen minute walk from my house to the train station to get to school is the rare quality time that I get to spend with my sister. I always enjoyed every minute of it. The comfortable peacefulness between us, with an effortless flow in conversation, it was a nice piece of tranquillity before the hectic rush of the day. Today, I feel, will be no different.

Just as we left the house, sandwiches in hand as breakfast, Suguha asked, 'Who is Asuna?'

'E-eh?' I stuttered, almost tripping over my own feet.

'I heard you calling her name every night in your sleep as you were having nightmares.'

That's right, every night for the past few months, I have not had a good night's sleep. Always waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares of SAO. The most frequent being seeing Asuna die in front of my very eyes. Those nightmares will always wake me up with tears and sweat streaming down my face. They have also cost me permanent dark eye circles.

'Asuna huh,' I began, 'She's this really beautiful girl that I met in SAO.'

I began recounting a brief summary of Asuna. Our various adventures together, the delicious sandwiches that she made, how we managed to get married in a cottage by the river, about Yui. And of course, the long beautiful chestnut-brown hair of hers, her feisty temper, the swift moves of her sword, and most importantly, her smile.

Recounting all these stories has made me start to cry, but it did not affect me as much as it used to, where I have to be restrained on a chair with those painful memories.

'Ha, since when had I become such a crybaby?' I smiled as I wiped the tears away. But the painful memories of Asuna swam in my head throughout my journey to school, and I resolved to try harder to search for Asuna.

I have searched for her ever since I was free of SAO. Now, online therapy groups and forums of SAO has popped up all over the internet. I joined one of the most popular SAO forum and found many friends there, including Klein, Agil, Lisbeth, Silica and several other players I have helped throughout the game. Since I used back my username, Kirito, I have been bombarded with questions about SAO constantly. So much so that even news station would like to interview me about what happened in SAO. I declined those interviews of course, but to stop the harassment, I released a statement and also wrote an article about what happened in the final level. The attention died down a little after that, to much relief. After all these commotion, there was still no news of Asuna. The entire online community was also more or less looking for information about Asuna, with her being a famous player in SAO itself.

I have not given up on finding Asuna of course, but it was proving to be a difficult quest.


	5. Chapter 4 - Kirito

**Chapter 4**

A year has passed since SAO ended and there are still no news of Asuna. The commotion surrounding SAO has died down significantly, but the online forums are still buzzing with activity. A date was even set up on Friday for a SAO 'reunion'.

I have been hesitant to attend, but Klein and Agil are doing a good job of peer pressuring me into consent.

'Ahh!' I cry out in frustration as I flopped onto my bed. I just ended a long, gruelling conversation with the two bros about the reunion. After a ton of peer pressuring, black mail, guilt trips and some weak retaliation from my side, I ended it with a 'We'll see', letting in a barrage of threats from the both of them. With the pretence of having to sleep early for school tomorrow, I logged off the forum.

Urghhh, I twisted and turned on my bed, pulling at my hair. This is so frustrating! Should I go for the reunion? I have made not many friends in SAO, Klein, Agil, Lisbeth and Silica, I have not really chatted with the other players for the past year. Plus, I'm a socially awkward person.

'Why is this so troublesome?' I cry out, with that I decided to not think about it now. I shall make my decision tomorrow.

* * *

With a huge sigh, I looked out of the window at the setting sun as I packed my bag. I have decided to go to the reunion after all. I asked Sugu about it in the morning and she strongly encouraged (includes high-pitched reasoning, constant nagging, several punches and a smack on my head) me to go. My mum has also said something along the lines of making more friends and going out more.

Hence, I decided to just revise in school till it's time for the reunion. I have been studying, and practicing kendo really hard, to the extent where my parents were worried about my social life. I know that it is slightly unhealthy being alone all the time, and not hanging out with friends like most people my age does, but I need to keep my mind preoccupied. If not, I may just drive myself insane, thinking of Asuna. Making small talks with my classmates is just not going to cut it.

The reunion will take place in Agil's bar, since he owned one. Agil agreed to close his bar for the night for this reunion. As I walked down the street towards the bar, I can't help but see the resemblance it had towards Agil's shop in Algade, a town in the 50th floor in Aincrad. I stopped in front of a shop which looks suspiciously alike Agil's in SAO and checked the address which I had scribbled on my palm. Confirming that it is indeed the right shop, I pushed the door open.

The bar was bustling with activity. Groups were huddled around tables, alcohol everywhere, occasional shouts, the reunion was in full swing.

'Yo Kirito!' I heard a shout, but could not locate its source.

I was still standing by the doorway, when someone slammed into me. I let out a grunt and pulled away, only to see Lisbeth smiling at me.

'Oh my god Kirito, I think you have grown taller, and some muscles, since SAO! I've missed you so much! Come come, everyone is dying to see you!' With that, Lisbeth pulled me across the crowd towards the bar counter.

'Yo Kirito, long time no see! Perfect timing man, another 5 minutes and I would have gone to your house to drag you here.' Klein said with a hard smack on my back. I looked around and saw Silica beside Klein and Agil looking expectantly at me behind the counter. Lisbeth pulled me a seat beside her.

'On the house.' Smiled Agil as he slide a cup of brown liquid towards me.

'Only the finest Scotch.' He says, eyeing my confused look. I took a gulp, it tastes sweet, yet slightly tangy, I liked it.

'So, how's life dude?' Klein asked, I have never seen Klein dressed like this, with a button down shirt and pants, and pressed down hair. Then again, neither have I seen Agil dressed in casual clothes either, though he maintained the bald head, nor Lisbeth and Silica in their school uniform. Everyone seemed to be doing well.

With the help of alcohol, conversation flowed smoothly, without realising three hours have passed.

'So, any news about Asuna?' asked Silica. Everyone in our group looked at me expectantly, and the atmosphere became heavy.

'Eh… Erm… There's no new information about Asuna whatsoever, although I have tried asking around from people in other schools, but no one's heard of her. In the article and statement that I have released to the media, I did mentioned Asuna, but no one has contacted me.' I said.

'That's weird. I mean, after you told the media about Asuna, they would surely have went to interview her, but no news came out. Asuna even used her real name in the game, it shouldn't be so hard to find her.' reasoned Lisbeth.

We discussed further about Asuna's whereabouts and considered several theories, before we knew it, it was 2 am.

'Aww man, I really have to go now, I have Kendo practice in the morning' I said.

With several protests from the group, we managed to end it we a toast to Asuna.

Silica joined me as I left the bar.

'It's really nice catching up with you, Kirito, or should I say, Kazuto', smiled Silica.

'Ehh.. Either one is fine.' I said with a shrug.

We made some small talk and hugged each other as we parted ways at the train station.

Tonight has been really fun, maybe I should go out more often, I thought as I fell asleep on the train dreaming about Asuna again.


	6. Chapter 5 - Kirito

**Chapter 5**

Febuary 2026.

Urghh. I have a Kendo tournament tomorrow, and for some reason, I couldn't get to sleep. This isn't my first tournament, and the competition tomorrow doesn't seem too difficult as well. But why is there a nagging feeling at the pit of my stomach then? It is making me crazy with nerves. It's almost midnight, I really have to get to sleep. With an exasperated sigh, I squeezed my eyes shut and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

The dojo is bustling with activity. Most of the matches are over and we are in the semi-finals now. I am standing in the ring facing my opponent, who is fidgeting due to nerves. This match shouldn't be difficult.

Ever since I took up Kendo again after SAO, I have been to several tournaments and won most of them. Although I believe that the winning is largely due to me waving a sword around for two years in a VRMMORPG, Coach seems to see potential in me. However, I have been unusually nervous today, and the nagging feeling from last night hasn't stopped as well. I'm losing my focus. I took a deep breath, and shift into my starting position.

With a shrill screech from the whistle, the semi-finals begin.

We circled each other for a while, before my opponent strikes me with a cry. I parried his strike and tried to attack his torso, but missed by a few centimetres. I hissed in frustration, but immediately retreat to compose myself.

I have to focus. This shouldn't be hard. I took another deep breath and went in for another attack.

Holding a sword is like second nature to me now. With all the practice that I have had in SAO. The lightness of the bamboo sword threw me off balance when I first came back to kendo, but after a few weeks, I have adapted.

A match like this should take me no more than five minutes to win, but the uneasy nagging at the back of my mind is preventing me from concentrating. In the end, I won the match in ten minutes, with a huge mental drain from my part, and I am starting to feel light-headed.

* * *

A 30 minutes break was given before the finals and I was sitting by the benches, trying to focus on my breathing. With a pair of headphones on, hyping me up with fast-paced music, I tuned out the surrounding voices. This unexpectedly caused the unpleasant feeling to take centre stage in my mind.

It is starting to annoy me, and have no idea why I am feeling like this. It seems like something bad is coming and I had no idea what it is going to be.

I have no time to think about things like that now, I need to concentrate and win this tournament. My team can't afford to lose on the first game of the season. It will just bring everyone's morale down. With an exasperated ruffle of my hair, I leaned back on my bench and took a swig of water.

As I was drinking, a girl with long chestnut brown hair and a soft round face walked past me.

That hair, that face, it looked so familiar… Can that be?...

Asuna! It's got to be her! There is no way that I could have mistaken that confident posture, that aura. I stood up and scanned the crowd, but she seemed to have disappeared.

No, that couldn't be, that's definitely Asuna. She definitely walked past me. It was not a mistake! I immediately start off in the direction that she went by just a minute ago.

I started off with a brisk walk that soon turned into a run. I ran all around the dojo, but she is nowhere to be found. I started to panic. Outside the dojo and all around the building, there was no sign of Asuna as well.

No, it's impossible, Asuna is definitely here. That's what the nagging feeling inside me is all about. Asuna is definitely here!

I paused for breath at the side of the dojo, it was then that I realised that my phone has been vibrating in my pocket all this while.

'Hello?'

'KAZUTO, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? THE MATCH IS STARTING IN 5 MINUTES AND YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE IN 30 SECONDS!'

'Wha-? Ah-h, YES COACH!'

Damn, I have forgotten all about the tournament.

* * *

I went back into the dojo, my eyes still scanning the crowd for Asuna.

'There you are! Where have you been? Urgh, been running around again. Haven't I told you to rest before any match, and not to waste energy running around? Could you be more responsible, Kazuto? Are you even listening to me? ...'

I tuned out my coach as I get into my gear.

Before I knew it, the final match was starting. My opponent this time was from The Catholic High School in Japan. He seems strong, but I should be able to beat him. I have seen him in other matches, and he does not seem to have any special moves, it's just that he's stable on his feet, and is not big to the extent that he is slow. His name is Ryouta I think. Kishitani Ryouta.

As much as I tried to concentrate, I still can't get the image of Asuna out of my head. I blinked a few times in an attempt to clear my head, but then I heard a cry and knew that a strike was coming. I just had enough time to raise my sword to defend myself.

I have got to concentrate! This time, I tried to attack, but Kishitani was surprisingly quick on his feet. I tried to attack him several times, but I missed, and I was getting frustrated. I blocked his attacks as well, but my mind was just not in the game. This continued on for 10 minutes with neither one of us scoring a point. And the referee called for a timeout.

I was relief for the time out, actually. I needed it to clear my head. I immediately went to apologise to my coach.

'What's wrong with you today, Kazuto? You need to focus! We are counting on you to start the season with a bang.'

'I-I'm sorry coach. I will try my best!'

When the time out is over, and I'm back in the game, I was ready. As the match resumed, I prepared myself to attack. I will end it quick, no more games, I was determined to win. I tried to make eye contact with my opponent, but something caught my eye. Sitting at the corner of the dojo, with a round face and long chestnut brown hair…

It's Asuna! She's there, at the corner of the dojo! Before I knew it, something hard smacked my helmet, and I stumbled backwards. I heard the whistle blew, signalling the end of the game, and realised that I had lost, but my eyes were transfixed on Asuna.

I saw her get up from her seat and ran towards Kishitani. She leapt into his arms just as he was taking off his helmet. They hugged each other before he planted a kiss on her forehead.

What is happening? What is Asuna doing in another guy's arms? Why isn't Asuna running towards me? Asuna, I'm here! It's me, Kirito! I'm here! Everything around me starts to spin and everyone somehow started moving in slow motion, the crowd around me, Asuna and Kishitani hugging each other, my sister Sugu, running towards me. Everything is spinning, before I knew it, everything went black.


End file.
